Opening day takeaways: How South Carolina, USC overcame early struggles to win

Women’s college basketball is officially back, and we’ve got you covered through the opening day of games.

The first matchup set a high standard for the rest, as No. 3 USC narrowly escaped an upset in its 2024-25 season opener. The Trojans, who led by as many as 15 points in the third quarter, held off No. 20 Ole Miss 68-66 on Monday in the opening game of the Oui-Play event in Paris.

The Trojans had barely trailed until the 5:22 mark, when the Rebels rallied to take their first lead of the second half. Ole Miss led 64-60 with 2:23 remaining, but USC hit its final eight free throws to seal the win.

USC sophomore JuJu Watkins, one of the front-runners for national player of the year, had 27 points, 10 rebounds, 4 assists and 5 blocks but also committed 9 turnovers.

USC’s Kiki Iriafen, who transferred from Stanford in the offseason, hit the winning foul shots with nine seconds to play. She finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds. KK Deans led Ole Miss with 19 points, including four 3-pointers.

Monday’s schedule included 16 games featuring AP Top 25 teams. No. 1-ranked South Carolina opened its title defense with a 68-62 win over Michigan in Las Vegas. The Gamecocks’ win streak is at 39 games, but the Wolverines — who started three freshmen — tested the defending champions from the start.

ESPN broke down the Day 1 results.

How did South Carolina look as it started its title defense?

Creme: Dawn Staley will have plenty to point out in the film session from this game. The much smaller Wolverines equaled South Carolina on the boards and managed to score 28 points in the paint while also having more assists (13 to 12) and more 3-pointers (8 to 5). This didn’t look anything like the Gamecocks on opening night a year ago, when they blew out Notre Dame in Paris.

That said, this game also revealed at least one area that makes South Carolina No. 1 in the country and the defending champ: Staley has so many options. On a night when Raven Johnson and Sania Feagin combined to shoot 0-of-10 from the field and score four points, Tessa Johnson stepped to the forefront with 15 points, much like she did in the national championship game. Chloe Kitts was South Carolina’s best player with 19 points and 14 rebounds.

Philippou: It wasn’t exactly a case of South Carolina picking up where it left off, though that might be partly because the team is adjusting to the absences of Kamilla Cardoso and Ashlyn Watkins. The Gamecocks didn’t own the paint as they typically do, which, paired with a 5-for-26 night on 3-pointers, made things a bit too close for comfort. Freshman Joyce Edwards had some nice moments (10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 steals, 1 block), while MiLaysia Fulwiley played just 15 minutes and was essentially a nonfactor. As the South Carolina player with arguably the highest ceiling, it’ll be worth monitoring how Staley gets Fulwiley going moving forward.

After the game, Kitts said the team will use this lackluster performance to fuel it moving forward. Sunday’s top-10 showdown versus NC State will be a great test to see how well the Gamecocks can bounce back from a subpar outing.

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Michigan was the biggest surprise of opening day

Philippou: The Wolverines weren’t on many radars this season, aside from their highly touted recruiting class. That group of freshmen — led by fearless Canadian Olympian Syla Swords (27 points, 12 boards) — took the defending champs to the final minute Monday. Even when South Carolina went up by nine points in the fourth quarter, Michigan didn’t let up, pulling within two in the final 30 seconds.

The Wolverines didn’t even face high expectations in their own conference; they were picked to finish outside the top five of the Big Ten preseason poll. But don’t be shocked to see Kim Barnes Arico’s squad ranked or receiving votes in the next AP poll.

Did the Fighting Irish’s Olivia Miles–Hannah Hidalgo backcourt live up to the billing?

Philippou: Yes. You couldn’t ask for more from Miles in her first official game back from her February 2023 knee injury. She left Notre Dame’s Purcell Pavilion on Monday with her fourth career triple-double (20 points, 10 assists, 10 rebounds), looking like her former All-American self. Hidalgo made her two-way presence felt with 19 points, 9 boards, 6 steals and six trips to the free throw line.

Irish coach Niele Ivey has spoken about Notre Dame wanting to play up-tempo. That was evident especially in the first half, when it picked apart Mercyhurst in the open floor and went into the break up 56-27, with Miles mostly bringing the ball down and Hidalgo mostly playing off the ball. For the game, the Irish scored 32 fast-break points (mostly in the first half) and put up 82 points in the paint.

That Notre Dame scored 105 points despite playing just seven players (Liza Karlen and Sonia Citron are among the recently injured) was a positive sign for Ivey, especially considering there is room for improvement offensively: The Irish assisted on just 21 of their 45 field goals and shot 3-for-17 from the 3-point arc.

Via @ESPNStatsInfo: Olivia Miles is the first player in ACC history to have a triple-double in three different seasons

— Alexa Philippou (@alexaphilippou) November 5, 2024

No. 3 USC 68, No. 20 Ole Miss 66

Did USC look like the country’s No. 3 team?

Creme: In the second quarter, when the Trojans outscored Ole Miss 22-10, yes. But that wasn’t the case for the other 30 minutes. Ole Miss won three of the four quarters and came back from a 15-point third-quarter deficit because USC’s offense got stagnant and relied too heavily on Watkins, Iriafen and the free throw line (23-of-29 for the game). Watkins and Iriafen scored 25 of the Trojans’ 31 second-half points, and 17 came at the stripe.

The head-scratcher was Talia von Oelhoffen, who sat for long stretches with foul trouble and took five shots. USC won’t be an elite team without its two stars getting more help from von Oelhoffen.

Coach Lindsay Gottlieb has two games against inferior opponents coming up (Cal Poly on Saturday and Cal State Northridge on Nov. 12) to iron out some offensive ailments, but 68 points and 40.0% shooting from the field (including 1-for-11 on 3-pointers) won’t be enough against Notre Dame on Nov. 23.

Philippou: USC looked like a team with nine newcomers, including three new starters (Iriafen, von Oelhoffen and freshman Kennedy Smith). The excitement over the Trojans’ incoming players — their two big-name transfers plus a stacked freshman class — comes with the reality that there’s some learning curve as the players get used to one another, which was exacerbated against Ole Miss’ pressure defense and with USC’s bench skewing young. Last year’s team leaned on veteran Ivy League transfers surrounding Watkins and Rayah Marshall; this season, there’s not a lot of basketball experience, individually and collectively.

Postgame, Watkins said the Trojans are still learning from each other, and Gottlieb argued that chemistry forms quicker under duress than in a blowout. The Trojans have less than three weeks to kick-start that process before facing No. 6 Notre Dame; that’ll be a big checkpoint in assessing whether USC is on its way to becoming the team it believes it can be.

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How did Ole Miss nearly knock off the Trojans? What statement did the Rebels make?

Creme: Great defense has been a hallmark under coach Yolett McPhee-McCuin, and the defense was outstanding against USC. Ole Miss’ length, particularly from players such as Madison Scott and Kennedy Todd-Williams, was disruptive. USC can be criticized for 26 turnovers, but Ole Miss had plenty to do with it.

We also got to see how important Deans would have been to the Rebels last season. In her debut since suffering a season-ending knee injury in late November 2023, Deans made 4 of 8 3-pointers in the second half to lead a shooting flourish not typical of Ole Miss, which hit 26.5% of its 3-point attempts last season. After going 1-for-11 from deep, the Rebels made five of their next eight from beyond the arc to get back into the game. Ole Miss might have scored the upset if not for a pair of turnovers in the final minute.

Philippou: Ole Miss came in fifth in the SEC preseason poll, behind South Carolina, Texas, LSU and Oklahoma — all of which are preseason top-10 teams. Nearly upsetting a supposed national title contender in USC — and seeing Deans return to basketball in strong form, as Charlie mentioned — will elevate expectations that McPhee-McCuin’s group can maintain its status as a ranked team, perhaps host NCAA tournament games and return to the Sweet 16 (the Rebels upset 1-seed Stanford to reach the regional semifinals in 2023).

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What stood out about Watkins’ performance?

Creme: At least early, Watkins appeared more patient than she was at the end of last season. Iriafen is a teammate she trusts; it was clear Watkins was OK deferring some of the offensive load. Watkins’ 19 field goal attempts were three fewer than she averaged a year ago, and she once again impressively drew fouls, shooting 10-of-12 from the free throw line. But nine turnovers is obviously a problem. It’s especially concerning because Watkins wasn’t handling the ball as much as she typically did in later stages of last season. That said, her overall line was still an outstanding way to begin the new season.

Philippou: The vision for this USC team is for Watkins to have more help around her so she doesn’t have to do as much as she did last season. That didn’t come into fruition Monday with Watkins, Iriafen and Smith combining for all but seven of the Trojans’ points and the offense sputtering. As others around Watkins get more comfortable, that should lessen the load on the star sophomore, allowing her to exert herself more on the defensive end and shine as a passer. We saw great flashes of that against Ole Miss with her 5 blocks (tying a career high), 3 steals and 4 assists.

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What is the biggest concern for USC moving forward?

Philippou: Gottlieb said USC wasn’t able to play in flow and with freedom offensively, instead allowing Ole Miss’ pressure to dictate the game. The turnovers (26, four more than the Trojans’ made field goals) were the biggest red flag, as was the abysmal 3-point shooting (Gottlieb insisted USC is better than that from deep). It’s a small miracle the Trojans won considering they shot 1-for-9 from the field in the fourth and Watkins managed two points in the final seven minutes.

Ole Miss-esque defenses aren’t something USC should have to worry about in the Big Ten, but the Trojans still must ensure they can deal with that sort of pressure come March.

Creme: The Trojans need better point guard play to relieve the burden for Watkins. They need her coming off screens, not initiating offense. That means Von Oelhoffen will have to stay out of foul trouble (four fouls Monday), be more involved and be more aggressive. Scoring her first (and only) points with 21 seconds left can’t be the norm.

And it’s worrisome that Marshall, the most tenured player as a Trojan, didn’t score and took one shot in 34 minutes. The 6-foot-4 senior is a career 11.4 points-per-game scorer.

UCLA won its opener, but did the Bruins impress?

Philippou: It was a bit of a damper Monday for the Bruins to be without Kiki Rice due to a shoulder injury suffered in practice. The point guard is considered day-to-day, according to the ESPN broadcast.

UCLA‘s offense wasn’t particularly pretty. The Bruins had 22 turnovers and shot 41% from the field, though things will likely run more smoothly once Rice is back. It was a great sign that Lauren Betts picked up where she left off, with a team-best 18 points on 9-for-12 shooting, 13 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 blocks.

Betts and Oregon State transfer Timea Gardiner seemed to work great together on the court, with Gardiner’s ability to stretch the floor helping to open up the inside for the 6-foot-7 Betts. Gardiner, a 6-3 forward, led the Bruins with five 3-pointers on seven attempts — three of which were assisted by Betts — and was one of two Bruins to convert from beyond the arc on the day. The duo could emerge as one of the most exciting frontcourt pairings in the Big Ten — and the country.